Norwegian Cruise Line
Reviews and Complaints

Subject: Urgent Complaint - Reservation Number [protected]

I am writing to express my deep disappointment and concern regarding my recent experience with Norwegian Cruise Line. On October 29, 2022, I booked a 7-day Alaska round-trip cruise aboard the Norwegian Encore for August 13 to August 20, 2023. I made this reservation directly through an NCL agent and completed my final payment by April 15, 2023, with a total cost of US$5,653.72. To cover the expenses, I secured a loan of TT$84,000/US$12,350, which I am currently repaying.

During the booking process, I sought clarification on the required visa documentation. The NCL agent, Ms. Amy Jerez, assured me that only an American Visa was necessary for my family, who are citizens of Trinidad and Tobago. This information led us to make comprehensive travel arrangements, including flights from Trinidad and Tobago to Seattle, where the cruise was set to depart on August 13, 2023. However, upon our arrival in Seattle, we were informed that Canadian Visas were mandatory for boarding, contrary to the information provided by Ms. Jerez.

Despite our pleas and willingness to undergo quarantine in Victoria, our requests were denied, leaving us stranded in a foreign city. We experienced emotional distress, and our luggage took over six and a half hours to be returned to us, with no assistance offered.

Our attempts to communicate with Norwegian Cruise Line since August have yielded generic responses that lack understanding or compassion for our situation. We remain hopeful for a compassionate resolution.

Incurred Costs (in US dollars):

• Total paid to NCL: $5,653.72

• Airfare: $5,147.32

• Hotel Accommodation in Seattle: $327.64

• Uber charges to the Port: $86.00

We kindly request empathy, fairness, and compassion to address this situation and restore our trust in Norwegian Cruise Line. We sincerely hope for a positive resolution.

A Nightmare with Norwegian Cruise Line - Avoid at All Costs!

I recently endured a nightmarish ordeal with Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) that has left me not only frustrated but also determined to warn others against sailing with them. To make matters worse, my attempts to seek resolution fell on deaf ears as NCL remained shockingly unresponsive.

My family and I had painstakingly planned and reserved a 7-day Alaska cruise on the Norwegian Encore, scheduled for August 2023. During the booking process, NCL's agent, Ms. Amy Jerez, assured us that only an American Visa was required for our Trinidad and Tobago citizenship, emphasizing that the cruise would exclusively transit American territories.

However, upon our eagerly anticipated arrival in Seattle, we were brutally blindsided. We were denied boarding due to the sudden and mandatory requirement of Canadian Visas for the portion of the voyage through Canadian waters. Our pleas for understanding and our willingness to comply with any quarantine requirements were coldly dismissed.

The ordeal didn't end there; our luggage, which was collected earlier, was held hostage, and we were left stranded in a foreign city. For over six and a half hours, we were without our belongings and offered no sustenance or even the basic comforts that a reputable cruise line should provide.

Our subsequent attempts to engage with NCL yielded nothing but cold and generic responses that lacked any trace of empathy. It was as though our distressing experience meant nothing to them.

This experience has left me resolute in urging potential cruisers to think twice before booking with NCL. My family and I had looked forward to a dream vacation, and NCL not only shattered those dreams but showed an alarming lack of empathy, fairness, and compassion.

Considering NCL's array of accolades and recognition for service excellence, I had expected a much more compassionate response from them. My family and I have been left not only disappointed but also deeply disheartened by NCL's shocking indifference to our plight.

In light of this experience, I implore anyone considering a cruise to think twice before choosing NCL. I sincerely hope they take this feedback seriously and work toward a better and more empathetic approach for the benefit of future customers. Your dream vacation could easily become a nightmare.

A.Ramhit.

On the night of August 26, we received the letter on the cruise ship surprisingly, we immediately called the customer service agent and I was told we owed over $400 on the kid’s Arcade service. My son is only 11 years old with the birthday. On that afternoon my son left the kids’ club and went to the Arcade and tapped his card multiple times during a few hours to try to earn some tickets with some gabling machines managed by Casino, which he ended up paying $400 and getting the prizes worth $4 in total.

The customer service representative on the ship was very unhelpful and said “your kid is your responsibility and nothing we could do. The only thing we could do is to submit the case #837550 for you”. We insisted on seeing the manager from Casino. The person named Norman Pwzalan - the Casino Manager told us the machine was designed for the kids to gamble and possibly win the big prize. That’s why there was no permission required from parents for the kids to play and there is no age requirement.

I was so upset with the supports I got. Followings are my serious concerns:

• The gambling machines as managed by the Casino was located in the kids’ Arcade. The legal gambling age in United States is 18+. I just couldn’t image how my 11 years old could spend this much money on Casino machines without any permission from parents. The room card used by my son for tapping on the gambling machine includes his birthday information.

The money was spent on the day from 1 to 9 PM. We didn’t receive any phone call or message on our cell phone or the stateroom phone for the notification, until the surprise letter shown up in our stateroom door at 10PM when the gambling amount was up to $400. Also, the statement on the letter was not true at all that “Unfortunately we were not able to reach you in your room xxx”.

• The customer service representative was very unhelpful. The agent told me the case #837550 was opened under our names. But until today, I haven’t received any confirmation via email. I have contacted the Norwegian customer service multiple times by phone and by chat message. The agent – Montiqua told me I should receive the information within 72 hours on September 9 as per the attached script. But until today I haven’t heard of anything from Norwegian.

I followed up again on September 16 and the agent asked me to call Norwegian instead. I called and was finally told if you haven’t received any email confirmation, it means you have to submit another case online. It is such a waste of time for everyone as involved and it is very unprofessional.

My request to ask to talk to the highest authority was ignored.

I booked a cruise on Norwegian Getaway sailing September 6, 2023, with air, transfers and hotel accommodations. We were 3 in our group but unfortunately. our connecting flight Amsterdam-Lisbon was cancelled, while we were waiting at the gate. KLM rescheduled our connection, but they separated us, arguing that there were two separate bookings or confirmations. They sent my husband and sister-in-law through Frankfurt and promised me a direct flight from Amsterdam. This was at around 9 a.m. on September 3, 2023. They booked me on TAP at 1:50 p.m., but they said the flight was overbooked. Went back to KLM and booked me in another TAP flight at around 4:30 p.m., also I was denied because the TAP personnel at the gate checking their passenger list, did not find my name. The person wrote in Dutch what the problem was and sent me back to KLM. I was desperate, alone, hungry, very tired. Finally, the supervisor of KLM took charge of the situation and booked me a flight at 7:45 p.m. that was delayed 40m minutes for bad weather in Lisbon. I got to Lisbon at midnight, no transfer from NCL, I put a complaint right away on the Ship, they gave me a complaint number, but I had not received any communication, I have called twice, and they tell me the supervisor will call me back in 24 hours, but never happens. I am very disappointed, and angry.

I received an email stating that you needed more info butt I don't see anything telling me what further info you need

Patti

Requested cancellation information for a client sailing on the Norwegian Sun 16 Aug 2023, booking number [protected]. Cruise was cancelled on 11 Aug 2023 due to illness. Insurance company refuses to settle the claim without proof of cancelatiion from Norwegian Cruise Line.

I cancelled a 12 day cruise to Iceland\Norway for 8/2024 due to NCL's rude customer service reps. One even hung up on me. To make matters worse, they refuse to refund my risk free $250 deposit. It's been advertised right their on their website for almost a year. RISK FREE. FULL REFUNDS.

I've been cruising for over 30 years. Never before have I experienced such a toxic immoral company. Never again!

My name is Ellen Montgomery, my guest # is [protected]. I just got off the Joy and I have to make you aware of all of the disappointments that took place. I have sailed NC several other times and always had a positive experience. This cruise was very different. I’ll start with loosing 1 day in Bermuda due to a storm. I realize that you can’t control the weather but compensating us with 50.00 on board credit was a joke. NCL could have done better! For the first 2 days our cabin was not made up, and NO we did not have the do not disturb displayed. We had the make up the room. We went down to file a complaint with guest services, which did nothing as our cabin still was not made up. I could have stayed in a cheap hotel and gotten my bed made daily. By day 4, they managed to clean the room. Both headlining shows got cancelled due to the staff getting hurt. So we decided to try bingo to fill up some time, only to see that you were charging 49.00 to play. After cancelling both shoes NCL could have lifted that charge. Now for the finale we sailed thru 25-foot waves. Everyone was getting sick. Your staff in the dining rooms were terrible. One morning we had to wait approx. ½ hour to get served, and it wasn’t even crowded.

After this cruise we (6 people) all plan on switching to Royal Caribbean in hopes of a better experience,

Thank you

We purchased the NCL transport airport/pier package prior to our cruise.

We returned to Seattle on the NCL Encore on 10/1/23 and place our color ticketed luggage with all the other luggage. On arrival to airport our luggage did not arrive. Discussion with transport staff was a no go, and we were informed that luggage gets lost every trip.

This is unacceptable and we want some resolve.

Dear Sir,

I'm a valued customer of Norweigen Cruise Line. I booked a cruise with NCL on 7/2/2023. At the time of the booking I paid a down payment of $1000.00.

We received a call from NCL on 9/18/2023, informing us that our reservation was cancelled and we had forfeited our down payment. Based on the conversation my husband Theodore Morris had with "Nick" he would assist him in rebooking and trying to get the forfeited money reallocated to the cruise once we rebooked.

Because we have never received any calls from Norweigen we were skeptical about the call and the request to give our credit card information to Nick.

I contacted NCL when I got home today and spoke with a supervisor in at the resolution desk name Natasha. As a long standing customer of NCL I was appalled about the manner in which she spoke with me. I'm requesting to rebook my reservation and apply the down payment already paid to the cruise.

Please have someone contact me to discuss.

Reservation#[protected]

Rhonda Harrison-Morris [protected] [protected]@svcmcny.org

On September 2 we sent the following email to four (4) NCL executives, and our NCL Reservation Consultant. We resent the same email on September 20th after we did not have an acknowledgement of the email from any of the people to whom it was sent. We said we would post this on public websites including Cruise Critic, if we did not receive a response:

My wife and I would like to share with you our recent customer service experience.  We want to compliment the customer service reps we talked with. We talked to three different representatives on September 2nd. All of them were polite, professional, and appeared to be truly interested in helping us. We were directed from one person to another as each looked to resolve a problem or answer a question that we had. They all had the same answers.

We wanted to find out how airplane reservations were made for guests and how the pricing was determined. At the time of booking our cruise we were quoted an airfare price of $528.00 USING SECOND GUEST FLIES FREE promotion. This quote was provided by our NCL Personal Cruise Consultant without his having knowledge of what the flight schedule would be or what airline was being used.  On May 27 my wife and I received a confirmation (Reservation [protected]) of the booked cruise from San Francisco to Miami for the 31st of October still with no specific info about the flight schedule.  We understood from the Personal Cruise Consultant that we would receive flight information at least 30 days before the cruise.  On June 26, after paying in full, we received a copy of the confirmation with the same pricing info as the original from May 27. This confirmation had a link to Air Services Standards, that said, “Customization is only available up to 75 days prior to sailing...” On August 7 we received the NCL Air Flight Confirmation. The air reservations that we received had us flying from Tampa to San Francisco on Southwest Airlines, with a stopover and plane change in Denver.  Total duration 9 hr. 25 min. The type of fare was listed as “Wanna Get Away”.

Using that fare type the total ticket cost is $374.00 ($184 TPA to SFO and $190 FLL to TPA}. The difference is $154.00.

We want to change the flight to a non-stop flight on United Airlines with a travel time of 5hr. 57 min. and an economy price of $189.00, with an additional fee of $35 for 1 checked bag. Total cost $224.00. Using the United fare TPA to SFO and the SW fare from FLL to TPA the total cost would be $414.00, with a cost difference from the paid $528.00 of $114.00.

The problems: 1) No fare transparency. 2) The Customer service agents (Consultant, Air and reservation) all said they do not know how fares are determined, other than that the fare is what the computer tells them. 3) The NCL Air Rep had no supervisor available. 4) Both the Air and Reservation reps said there was no one who could do anything about this because it was all within the NCL Air Services Standard.

Recommendations:  1) Tell your customer service reps how airfare prices they quote are determined. 2) Tell your customers how airfare prices are determined. 3} Make supervisors available to customers. 4) Book shortest duration flights especially for senior citizens. {I am 78, my wife is 77.  We are both experienced travelers and cruisers) 5) Quote actual prices.  6} Provide the best flights and fares for your customers by leveraging NCL’s buying power. 7) Alter Air Service Standards to include best price and schedule for customers and allow customers to interact with NCL Air staff when booking flights. 8) If NCL Air service is a profit center, let customers know they may be able to find better airfare prices, schedules and connections online, while advising the customers on arrival and departure lead times for airport transfers and embarking and debarking.

We expected a refunded of the excess air charges.  Even if the carrier and schedule could not be changed, (per Air Service Standards - which can be changed by NCL) it is only correct to refund or credit the difference to on board ship purchases.

We look forward to your timely reply and resolution so that we can post positive public media reviews, including on Cruise Critic, and recommend NCL to our friends and travel groups in the Tampa Bay area and Washington, D.C.

I am trying to book a family cruise: 4 two bedroom Haven cabins on the Epic departing on 24 March, from Port Canaveral. The NCL cruise consultant (verified by the supervisor and an NCL customer service rep), stated there were NO exclusive offerings.

However, both United and Marriott offer $400 cruise credit per stateroom (plus miles or points) by booking through them. The Exclusive Offer was only effective for 9/13-9/15. That's $1600 shipboard credit for the 4 rooms that the NCL cruise consultant could not offer.

The REAL issue is that it is NCL that is giving United and Marriott the cruise credit to pass on to their customers (the Marriott cruise consultant verified that with an NCLagent just to make sure the $400/stateroom was correct - it was). That is undercutting your own NCL cruise consultants and I don't think this is fair or right.

If I were a NCL cruise consultant, I would consider quitting and hiring on with United or Marriott because I could sell more cruises by undercutting the NCL agents.

I have attached both the United and Marriott screen shots as evidence.

10 of us are traveling. Agent said they would link the trips for those that booked directly with NCL. NCL errored in issuing flights. We asked that they correct it and put 4 of us on the same flight. They have been so cold about their error and will not do anything to fix. Resolution team told me today they won't reach out to the airline. Just love the way this is starting out.

We booked a 12 day cruise on the NCL PRIMA departing Southampton, UK on 10/1/23. The primary reason to take this specific cruise was the visit of two ports in Portugal (Porto and Lisbon).

A couple of day ago we were informed that PORTO visit is exchanged to a visit at a small Spanish town (Vigo) about 2 hours land-drive north of Porto. Porto is a city of significant historical value for our group of 4 families booked on this cruise. The shorter port stay also will nor permit a long day trip to Porto.

The reason provided for the change is PIER space. This is an insufficient reason since such a coordination should have been guaranteed long ago.

It almost looks like a bait and switch...

We are a party of 8 Australians on this particular cruise leaving Capetown and finishing at Barcelona. I believe it is the NCL Dawn

We are in constant contact with My cruises and have contacted various agencies for visas for Senegal and the Ivory Coast. We totally understand it is our responsibility to gain the knowledge about these visas however the embassies are stating that we need a letter from NCL to say we are on the ship and have your permission to go ashore. We have no embassy for either port in Australia, and one agency states we need to get a visa in our home country which is impossible  !Our travel agent has asked you if you will let us board the cruise with a previsa ( which the embassy says we can download) and if you will furnish the appropriate letter and your response has been unsatisfactory . One email states we don't need a visa which is incorrect as that is only true for air passengers in transit.I cannot believe that you are unaware of this situation as you have sold us all a cruise for $18.000(AUD) per person.We are all even willing to compromise and not get off in Senegal and the  Ivory Coast to ensure we get the rest of the cruise.!More crucial is that we are all expected to pay the balance of the 16th October and we do not know if you will let us on the ship. We have been told there are substantial penalties if we delay payment and this is grossly unfair if we don't now if you will let us on the ship.

We URGENTLY await a response from you

Reservation Number: [protected]

Norwegian Sun

October 20, 2023 - October 30, 2023

We booked our reservation several months ago. Since we booked our balcony cabin, the prices of cabins had decreased. We paid $2200 for the Balcony and the updated price is $1895 for the same balcony.

We have spoken with NCL Customer Service at least 4 times over the past month. Each time we get a different answer, from someone is looking into it, to we can get a next cruise credit, to there is nothing NCL can do.

Yesterday, we were told since we paid the cruise in full, there is nothing NCL can do. That makes not sense. It's almost like NCL penalizes you if you pay in full.

We called on 8/18/2023 and was given a case #[protected] and we told that they would research and get back with us. We called again the next week and was told again that they were researching this. On 8/26/2023 we spoke with Customer Service and was told that they would give us a future cruise credit and my husband would get an email confirming in a few days. Still have not received the email confirmation.

We spoke with Miss Cameron on 8/30/2023 and was told there is nothing that NCL will do since the cruise is already paid for.

We have enjoyed cruising with NCL in the past, put with this experience and a bad experience on our cruise in April on the Encore thru the Panama Canal, we may need to rethink booking another cruise with NCL.

Suzanne Earles

[protected]

sue.[protected]@gmail.com

8/29/2023 4:30 - 5:22 pm - Reservation #[protected] Viva 9/4/2023

Problem with return flight schedule.

American Airlines Flight from Athens to JFK arrives in Terminal 8 at 4:56 pm

JetBlue connecting flight from JFK to Seattle leaves Terminal 5 at 6:33 pm

Layover time of 1 hour and 37 minutes. Asked NCL how I could clear customs at JFK and make my flight in this short amount of time. Shandai said she thought I would clear customs in Seattle but American would know for sure. Called American and they confirmed that we do need to wait for our bags at the carousel, clear customs at Terminal 8, take a shuttle to Terminal 5 and go through Security again to board our JetBlue flight; they said a minimum of 3 hours is required to do all this but any changes need to be done by my Travel Agency which is NCL.

Called NCL again, talked to Chalise who kept saying this is "within NCL standards"; talked to Supervisor Samantha who said there is nothing they can do. NCL Travel has booked me on an IMPOSSIBLE connection and there is nothing anybody will do. NCL air travel has made this trip an absolute nightmare! If they will not do anything, who will? I am so dissatisfied by NCL lack of service. I cannot understand how a travel agency can book me on an impossible itinerary. This has added so much stress to what was supposed to be a wonderful vacation. Some monetary compensation is very much due to me and my family. Regretfully, Bertha

We are totally frustrated with NCL. From the beginning we have requested PRE and POST cruise hotel stay/flight arrangements in order to tour Rome, telling several different people at NCL that this was our plan. We were repeatedly told this would all be addressed closer to the sailing date. It was difficult to get any kind of accurate information or answers but NCL did eventually get a PRE cruise 3 day stay on our reservation. No response or assistance regarding the POST cruise arrangements.

We were open to both NCL's options of a 3 day stay including hotel or a 2 day stay at a hotel of our choice. This has to be accomplished on the NCL side because they are booking the airfare and hotel arrangements. We have since received notice of flight arrangements from NCL showing us returning home on the day the cruise ends, ignoring our request for a post cruise stay.

This is a once in a lifetime trip to honor a 70th birthday and 60 year friendship.

It needs correcting as soon as possible as we will not have another opportunity to do a trip like this again.

We are traveling with our friend who has the same issues with his booking.

Dear Sirs,

I cruised on your Hawaii cruise from 11/12/2023 to 11/19/2023 aboard the Pride of America. I received the notice below 10 days prior to my sailing that there would be reduced services due to your short staffing however there was no mention of a reduction in cost for the cruise proportional to a reduction in service. This announcement was made too late to change or cancel the cruise. I inquired about this when I checked in aboard the ship and was basically “put in my place” by the customer service desk for even mentioning the issue (not even an apology). I reported this to your office upon returning from the cruise back in mid-November and never heard anything back from you office. I have traveled on Norwegian a few times, and this was by far the worst experience I have ever had. The customer should get what they paid for or a proportionate refund should be issued.

Please look me up in your files and finally respond to my concerns. It has been 10 months.

To say the least, briefly and to avoid any more undue duress, argument, and expended energies, we would like to move forward in resolving all disputes we have with Norwegian, at this time. Our “Once in a Lifetime Vacation” on the Viva was extremely disappointing. The only thing that did not disappoint was the Stateroom cabin. Otherwise, the ship layout was disappointing, the crew or lack thereof (personality was an issue), duration of time in ports and more. Moving forward, rather than compounding negatives, continuing to turn negatives into positives, as our recent vacation turned full-time job, was not the positive we were hoping, for the thousands of dollars and hours spent preparing for, only now to fight the claims process, trying to reclaim unplanned expenditures not having had our luggage ^+/6 days of our 11 day (about 1 and a half weeks) “vacation" and still chasing a “vacation!” We look forward to an “amicable” opportunity with NCL and request to be “compensated” with opportunities to help be part of the solution and future positive experiences with your Line.

More feedback will be given based on the future comps provided. We would like to sail Alaska, Spring 2024.

This is a formal attempt at “Dispute Resolution.” Every attempt is being made on our part, as a Consumer, to resolve the dispute if in all fairness to both parties. Please respond within 10 days.

I feel cheated. I booked a 10 day cruise in October 2022. The sail date was May 2023. I had been in contact with 2 different "cruise consultants " several times. Never once did they make it clear that I needed a passport book. This was to be my FIRST cruise. My first real vacation! I made this known to both cruise consultants. On the day I was to fly out to meet the ship in Italy, I was denied boarding because I only had a passport card. Norwegian has refused to give me a refund or credit towards a different cruise. They are an awful company, greedy and predatory.